Anatomy of a siege
1
Overlap their land
Run a loop that crosses into a rival’s territory (at least ~50 m of your route inside it). The overlapping ground becomes contested — it highlights on the map and “breathes,” and both houses get a Herald dispatch.
2
The tug-of-war
Every run you make through the contested ground lowers the defender’s defence by your effort × the distance you covered inside it. Every run they make through it rebuilds defence by the same formula. Crossing one of their border Walls costs you extra (20% resistance, 50% for a Reinforced Wall).
3
The transfer
When defence reaches zero, the land transfers to you automatically — no separate claiming run. The Herald announces it to both houses.
Worked example: you invade a rival Village with a hard 4 km run, 2 km of it inside their ground at 1.5× effort — that’s 3 defence removed. The defender answers the next morning with an easy 3 km recovery jog through the same ground at 1.0× — 3 defence rebuilt. Stalemate. Sieges are won by whoever shows up more, harder.
Defending
You defend the same way you attack: run your contested ground. A few things tip the scales:- A Reinforcement Order (earned item) instantly repairs some defence on a route under attack — save them for emergencies.
- A holding under siege pays no tribute until the siege is broken — an economic reason to respond quickly.
- You can never lose your account or rank — only current territory. Land lost can always be retaken.
Sellswords (hired steel)
Gold can hire mercenaries — bounded help that never substitutes for effort. Two kinds exist: a defensive garrison that reinforces one holding, and an offensive company that strengthens one invasion march you actually run. Their strength is always capped below your weakest earned defence, and hiring any sellsword raises the Sellsword’s Mark — a visible pennant that paints your house as a richer target for rivals who strike you. Read the full Sellswords guide for costs, upkeep, and how the Mark works.Reading the map
- Your own land carries a reserved outline colour so it’s always unmistakably yours.
- A territory’s tier shows as its strength and degrades visually as defence drops — a faded holding is a vulnerable one.
- Contested land is highlighted and “breathes”; the crimson treatment marks live combat.
- Walls render as lines along the routes that built them.
- Ghost territories are unclaimed AI-held land in your city — free to take, no siege required.
- A tarnished pennant over a rival’s holding is the Sellsword’s Mark: they’ve hired steel, and they’re worth more to raid.
The War Council (planning your marches)
Open the War Council to chart a route toward a goal before you lace up, and save it as a named March:- Fortify — plots a loop through your own land that needs reinforcing (it favours your decaying ground).
- Invade — heads toward a rival’s territory so your route contests it. You can pick a specific target territory to march on.
- March — a straight distance goal, no particular target.